It's a wonderful life
by briroch
Summary: Mike Stone is not at his best in the time leading up to Christmas, especially as Jeannie and Steve have plans of their own. Like James Stewart in the movie of the same name he needs a special visitor to set him right.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from SOSF that I am using in this story. I do not write for profit, just for my own- and hopefully- your entertainment._

_A/N: As always a big thank you to my wonderful Beta Reader Tanith 2011 who found the time to edit this so close to Christmas. And thanks to all the ladies from the SOSF writers group for their encouragement- and thanks for__** not **__picking this prompt for the Round Robin._

**_It's_**_** a w**_**_onderful life!_**

The weeks leading up to Christmas were never a good time for Mike Stone. So much of the preparations reminded him of his late wife Helen and all the things they used to do together to make Christmas memorable for their daughter Jeannie. Carefully chosen presents, baking of gingerbread cookies, preparations of traditional food, decorations adorning the house and of course, the well-lit Christmas tree made the holiday season in the Stone household a magical occasion. For years he had done his best to overcome his Christmas depression that always started in mid-November with the event of the anniversary of Helen's passing for the sake of his daughter, and in the past couple of years for his partner Steve Keller too. Steve had no close relatives and had become part of the Stone family, and somehow having him around had given both Mike and Jeannie's Christmas a new purpose. _But this year? Why bother?_

At Thanksgiving, after a lot of humming and hawing, Jeannie had come out with the announcement that her present boyfriend had asked her to spend Christmas with him and his family. Both being the only child in their families, the decision hadn't been easy for the young woman, but being in love and under pressure from the new love in her life she had reluctantly agreed. Mike pretended not to mind then after a while; Steve had dropped a similar bombshell. His aunt had urged him to spend Christmas with them, as his uncle was unwell and might not see many more Christmases. Jeannie then had suggested that Mike could come and spend Christmas with her boyfriend's family but Mike had declined vehemently. He didn't really like Trevor and suspected he would like his parents even less. So he had broken the uncomfortable silence at the table by telling the two guilty looking young people that he was looking forward to a few days of peace and quiet with no obligation to be festive and jolly.

There he was now, on his own, on Christmas Eve while the two people he wanted to be with were away having a good time. _They don't need me any longer. Jeannie is grown up. Soon she will have a family of her own, my little girl. And Steve- the son I never had- well, I guided him for a few years, but he is his own man now, he doesn't need me as a father figure any more._ Gloomy thoughts went through the lonely man's head. The day before Christmas … In the absence of anything better to do he flicked on the TV and sat down in his favourite chair. _Get used to it, Mike; this is what retirement is going to be like. Jeannie and Steve busy with their own lives, and me, staring at the walls. This is not how Helen and I had pictured my retirement - travel, going places, taking up a hobby together. Oh Helen!_ He sighed. Then he looked at the TV screen. He recognised the movie alright. He and Helen had watched it countless times together. _It's a wonderful life_… _A wonderful life? Oh, how well I understand Bailey. I also wish I never had been born! What difference would it make, anyhow?_ Mike nodded off…

"Mike, hey, Mike, wake up, man!" someone was shaking his shoulder. A very firm grip, too firm for Steve and the voice was different, too_. But who could come into his house just like that?_ Mike woke with a start and opened his eyes, then closed them again and shook his head. He blinked rapidly. _Impossible. This must be a dream._ The man in front of him was someone he did know - well, not personally - but…. this can't be. _The Cinderella Man - James J Braddock, the Boxer?_

"But you died a couple of weeks ago?" Mike exclaimed. "Are you a ghost?"

"Oh man, don't you recognise an angel when you see one?" the ghostly apparition of the boxer sounded quite offended. Mike didn't want to hurt his unexpected guest's feelings, but he had always imagined that angels had more delicate features and…

"You're not exactly an oil painting yourself, buddy." Cinderella Man interrupted Mike's train of thought. "And before you ask, buster, yes, I can read your mind, so be careful what you think!"

Mike tried to wipe his thoughts clean of any negativity. During his fighting career the Cinderella Man had been feared for his powerful right_. I wonder if…_

"Yep, I can still clean your clock, although angels are not supposed to do such things." Braddock looked crestfallen. "I'm still on probation for the Divine Intervention Squad, you know, so I was sent down to spend the evening with you. The boss reckoned you would need someone with a powerful right to knock some sense into you, Mike Stone!"

Mike shook his head. This couldn't be for real. Before he could pinch himself, Braddock had pinched him already. "Ouch… that hurt!"

"Do you believe you are awake now, Iron Mike?" the extraordinary angel questioned.

Mike nodded his head in agreement, trying to keep his thoughts under control. "And what now?" He asked.

"Well, my friend, I could just knock some sense into this thick skull of yours, but maybe we should do it the _angelic_ way. Grab your coat and come for a walk with me." The tone was slightly threatening and Mike complied readily. What else could he do besides spending the night with an angel who used to be a boxer in his earthly life, a boxer whose career Mike Stone had followed and… "We're not here to talk about my fights, though I could tell you some stories there," Braddock interrupted. "We're here to sort out Mike Stone, the man who would rather not have been born!"

The unreal feeling prevailed when, straight after stepping out of his front door, the world seemed to spin and Mike found himself and his companion downtown. "Sorry for the rough ride, I'm still learning some of the special skills, you know. I never seem to get the spin quite right yet," Braddock apologized.

"Not at all." Mike assured his escort. "By the way, how do I address you? Angel or Mr…"

"Just call me Cinders, my friend. "

In the meantime Mike had got his bearings; they were walking towards the square, where Wally Sensibaugh sold his newspapers. Mike smiled in anticipation. He had always liked Wally and was looking forward to a chat with the good natured man who always seemed happy.

Once more the angel read Mike's thoughts. "He will not recognise you, man, because you were never born, remember that!"

Mike suppressed a grin and the accompanying thought, not too successful, he feared, because Cinders' expression was less than angelic now. He expected to hear Wally's voice announcing "Happy news, happy cats, happy dogs…" but was surprised to see a surly man calling out the headlines "Cyclone devastates Darwin, Australia! Three girls from Fort Worth still missing! Bomb attack in London!" "Hey, Wally, Wally- what happened to you?" His old friend, the newspaper vendor stared right through him and didn't seem to notice him.

"Cinders, what's the matter with him?" Mike couldn't believe his ears or his eyes.

Braddock smiled with sympathy and for a fleeting moment Mike almost believed that he was talking to an angel. "Remember when Wally's money was stolen?"

The detective remembered the case all too well. He and Steve had worked on a homicide that was linked to a trio of thieves who had helped themselves to Wally's life time savings. Wally had intended to use the money to buy him and his wife a trip to Europe. A trip that they had been dreaming of all their lives.

"You know, you weren't there this time around and nobody believed that he recognised the shoes… Who would but Mike Stone?"

"So he didn't get his money back? Is that what changed him?" Mike asked incredulously.

Cinders nodded. "But there was more. His wife divorced him."

"What? Over the money? I don't believe it! I thought she loved him!"

"She did, and it wasn't over the money. She couldn't forgive him that he lied to her and didn't tell her what happened. Wally felt guilty about losing the money in the first place and turned bitter. As a lot of people who turn bitter he sought comfort in drink. Again, something that his wife couldn't deal with, but when he started pushing her about…"

"Oh…" Mike sighed. He didn't like the Wally he saw at all. "And where was Steve? Why didn't he help him?"

"Steve was somewhere else, but we'll come to that later. We have a few more calls to make first."

Once more, the world started to spin.

This time Mike was better prepared and regained his balance much quicker. Braddock seemed very pleased. "I'm getting the hang of this transportation thing at last," he chuckled. "It just takes time and practise, as they said, and we'll get plenty of practise in tonight, my friend."

Mike had sneaked a few furtive looks around him. He was pretty sure they were in St Quentin, though not in a part where he would normally go as a visitor. They were in the actual cell block. The atmosphere couldn't have been more different compared to how it was downtown, where the last minute shoppers were busy finding a suitable present for a loved one, while street musicians played Christmas music. Here, in the prison it was eerily quiet.

"Lock down on Christmas Eve - probably the saddest night of the year," the angel explained as they made their way along the cells.

Mike looked into a cell and to his immense surprise saw Bobby Jepsen, one of the boys from his basketball team.

"What is he doing in here? We cleared him of the wrong accusation and I was sure he'd never put a toe out of line again."

Braddock laughed. "What do you mean - you cleared him? He was out for just a few hours on Parole, you know! Unfortunately you were not born, so there was nobody there who believed him and he was thrown straight back in."

"Darn it!" Mike swallowed. "I forgot. But why didn't Steve pick up on it? He's a bright kid, he should have noticed…" Mike felt a certain amount of anger rising.

"Steve? We'll come to that in our own good time. I want you to meet a few more of your old friends before we move on."

Mike's heart sank as he followed the messenger from Heaven along the dimly lit floors.

"Meet Robert Hobbes. You remember him of course? No one was there to prevent him from taking revenge on his son's killer. He's doing life now. His old father never got over the shock and died soon afterwards. No visitors for him…" he related in an almost clinical voice. "And now Russ Rankin - doing life for two murders, though he actually only committed one. Since he thought he had killed already, nothing and nobody," the angel looked at Mike accusingly, "could keep him from killing the actual perpetrator who tried to blackmail him. Nobody cared enough to give the case a proper investigation..." Mike was too disturbed to answer. There was a hint of pity in the ex-boxer's face. "Have you seen enough or would you like to meet more old friends?"

Mike shook his head wearily.

When the world started spinning, they were outside again. By the time Mike had overcome the short bout of travel sickness, he realised they were in a big graveyard. "Oh no, not more of this!"

"Oh yes, plenty more to come, my friend."

Mike meekly answered, "I think I would have preferred a right hook."

"Yes." Braddock's voice was full of angelic compassion and Mike could really see an angel in the making now. "But that's not how the boss wants it, you just watch and learn and come to your own conclusions. In the firm up there," he paused and pointed up toward the heavens, "we don't believe in beating sense into our potential candidates. We leave violence for the other side!" a hint of pride tinted his voice.

With trepidation Mike followed his guide. "Beverly Landau - Graham got to her of course, as nobody forced her into protective custody!"

_Wait 'til I get my hands on Steve! Where was he all this time? Oh, my God….not here?_

Once again Braddock intercepted Mike's thoughts. "No, he's not here, you will meet him later." "Thank God!" Mike sighed.

The angel smiled. "That's more like you, the Mike Stone we know and love up there!" he pointed towards the dark sky. "But you know, buster, credits for attending church services alone won't do the trick." Braddock had started walking again, pointing out several graves in passing.

"Jeff Williams - he bought a second bullet and that time it killed him. Kim Ahearn - Amory Gilliam pushed her off the cliffs that day. Sherry Reese - the Lieutenant gave in to her pleas and let her go undercover. Nobody escorted her home that night, so Prentiss got her…" Then he stopped. "Here lies little Davey Sung. You must remember him. He was a good kid, but that crazy guy Chick Kramer put a gun in his hand when the police stormed the Cobra Gang's headquarters and he was iced. Poor kid."

Mike hid his eyes behind his hands. "Oh stop it, stop it. "

Braddock was visibly fighting with himself. "Sorry, Iron Mike, but I have to follow my brief in order to become a fully-fledged member of the Divine Intervention Squad; you wouldn't want to stand in the way of a guy's destiny now would you? Eternity can be long if you have nothing worthwhile to do!"

Mike nodded meekly.

"Okay, let's get rolling then. Next stop: SFPD Headquarters!"


	2. Chapter 2

Mike didn't expect many changes at the Department - with or without him, work would go on. He was a bit curious though about who would have made Lieutenant in his place. _Hasseejian?_ _No longer overshadowed by the daunting presence of Stone? Maybe! Or Tanner could have fast tracked. Yes, Steve and Tanner would have made a great team… But where was Steve?_ Mike walked around the almost empty office. Only Healy who had grown up children was doing late duty on Christmas Eve. Mike could spot Steven Keller's nameplate on none of the desks.

"Did he transfer to a different department?" he asked.

"He left the force." Braddock replied flatly.

Mike chuckled happily. "So without me holding him back he did take up the offer to teach at Berkley! Looks to me that one positive outcome came out of all this. At least Steve is happy!"

Then his eye fell on the door of what used to be his office. "_Milt Dedini?_ This has to be a mistake! Dedini is as bent as a straw in a milkshake! He's on Sims' payroll!" Mike shouted with outrage.

The Cinderella Man shrugged his shoulders and his rugged features looked a bit sad. "But Mike, who was there to prove it? He had a great gig going and nobody ever suspected him. He got rid of the only person that might have caught on to him."

"You mean _Steve?_ But you said he's not dead. Where is he?" Mike was getting seriously worried about his partner now.

Braddock looked at Mike with compassion in his eyes. "Sometimes I think I might hate this job. Are you sure you want to see him?"

"Absolutely! I need to know!"

"But bear in mind, he won't recognise you," the angel warned.

"I figured that, since I was never born, so naturally nobody can see me and even if they did, they wouldn't know who I am, right? Let's go."

And the world started spinning again.

"Oops, I must have miscalculated the coordinates by just a fraction or two. I hope you don't mind a short walk."

They had landed in a narrow dark alleyway littered with dustbins. Mike was startled by a black shadow jumping out from under a soggy cardboard box. A scrawny, scruffy looking black cat stood in front of him, giving him an angry stare with its flashing green eyes as it gave out a furious yowl. The yowl reminded Mike of Andy, the cat the Homicide Department had adopted after he had helped solve the case of his owner's murder.

"Meet Andy. His owner's' death was ruled as an accident. Of course the first thing her neighbour did was to throw the cat out into the street and no one would ever know the truth about how she had murdered his mistress for her inheritance."

Mike was confused. "Why can he see me?"

Braddock shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, animals have much better senses than humans and can detect the supernatural. You've probably heard that saying about having a sixth sense? This guy is definitely mad at you!"

With a last angry howl the cat disappeared again and the pair approached a big gated building that seemed familiar to Mike.

"Dr Rabb's clinic? Steve did some undercover work there only a few weeks ago. Is he still there?"

He hesitated at the door, when he saw his companion walk through the solid wood.

"What the heck!" he mumbled and braced for the impact. He really needed to see what had become of his partner now. The suspense was sickening.

To his immense surprise he walked through the door just like his angelic friend and soon found himself in the Common Room. There he saw Steve, or _was it_ Steve at all? The young man in casual clothes looked like Steve alright, but the vacant expression on his face? The man sat at a table, shuffling and reshuffling a deck of cards, trying to line them up for a game of solitaire but halfway through he seemed to forget what he was doing and stopped. Then the frantic activity started again. A grey haired, worn out looking lady sat next to him, talking to him lovingly, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"Oh my God! What happened to him? Is this real or is he undercover?" Mike's voice was thick with emotion.

"He's been here for over a year now. Dedini, who used to be his partner, gave him a hard time from day one. Where you encouraged him and gave him the confidence he needed, Dedini knocked him down and led him to doubt himself. The crunch came, when he shot the Davies kid."

Mike nodded; he didn't trust himself to speak, as he watched the empty shell of the young man he loved like a son.

"Do you remember how he beat himself up, how the guilt and self-doubt almost broke him?"

Mike nodded. He had feared for his partner at the time and had watched over him carefully.

"But… but we did find the gun the kid was holding in the end and he was completely cleared of all charges…" Mike interjected.

"No, my friend, you were not there for him. Dedini went as far as to testify in court that he shot an unarmed kid."

"Oh, the blasted wretch! Wait 'til I get my hands on him!"

Before the angel could reply, the door opened and Dr. Rabb, the founder of the clinic came in. He stopped at the table to greet the grey haired lady. "Hello, Mrs. Keller. Nice to see you again." She looked at him, hope gleaming in her eyes.

"Doctor, is our Stevie getting any better at all? I think he's not as pale as he was the last time…" Her voice trailed off.

"I'm so sorry, Ruth, we're doing all we can. The medication has calmed him down and he's not trying to hurt himself any more. I suppose in his own world he's happy …"

Like Steve's aunt, Mike was dabbing his eyes with his handkerchief.

"Oh God, the poor boy!" Steve's aunt expressed what went through Mike's head.

Then he felt a hand clasping his elbow and he was led away through the closed door again.

"Will he ever recover?" he asked.

"What for? To find that a sentence for manslaughter's hanging over him? Dismissal from the force?" Braddock led the upset and anguished Mike down the road.

All of a sudden the troubled man stopped in his tracks. "And Jeannie. What about Jeannie?" Braddock patted Mike's shoulder. "No worries there, man!"

Mike breathed a sigh of relief. "At least my little girl's doing okay!"

The messenger from heaven looked at Mike. "What little girl? There is no Jeannie. How can a man who was never born have a daughter? Hey, can you explain this to me?"

Mike's blood ran cold. _No Jeannie? A world without his wonderful and warm hearted daughter?_ "Well, you wanted it this way, so don't be blaming me!" Braddock once more had picked up on Mike's negative vibes. "Don't shoot the messenger okay?"

"But what about Helen, is she alive or dead?"

Braddock chuckled. "The last time we talked she was definitely dead and by the way she sends her love and asked me to remind you that the stand for the Christmas tree is in the cupboard of the spare room, bottom shelf!"

All this was getting too much for Mike. "You were talking to Helen?"

"Sure, we're on the same team, but obviously she couldn't come to set your head right. Rule number one is never to be personally involved with your charges."

Mike still didn't get it but nodded all the same.

Braddock sighed and looked up into the sky. "Boss, give me patience with this numbskull!" After another sigh, he faced Mike. "Alright, let me explain. As you were never born, Helen married someone else. A guy called Len Koslowsky. Does the name ring a bell?"

"Ring a bell? A whole steeple! The slimy no good louse was forever pursuing her!" Mike was outraged.

"Without you the picture, he eventually won her over."

"But he was no good!"

"This is true and he made Helen's life and the life of their daughter a misery. When Helen got sick, he upped and left her and the child. The girl tried her best to cope, but after a while she needed harder stuff to numb the pain…" Braddock didn't finish the sentence.

"The miserable lowlife! Can we go find him?"

Braddock looked a bit embarrassed. "Last thing I heard he's playing for the other team."

"Oh," Mike let the information sink in.

_How could anyone abandon a wonderful woman like Helen when she needed him most, and how could a father abandon a child?_

"I know she's not Jeannie, but can I see her just for a moment?" he asked meekly. "Sure thing. She normally hangs out across the road from here."

Mike hadn't realised how far they had walked from the leafy suburbs where Dr. Rabb's clinic was located, to the dark underbelly of the city.

"Helen's daughter- is she here?"

"Yep, over there" Braddock pointed at a young girl wearing the shortest of miniskirts over fishnet tights. She wore heavy makeup to give the impression that she was older than she was. Mike noted that she bore a striking resemblance to Jeannie, who had always been the picture perfect image of her mother "Oh no…!"

"Oh yes, of course the poor girl has to pull tricks to support her habit."

"I've seen enough. I'd do anything, _anything_, at all to reverse this! Stop it! _Stop it!"_

But the hammering on the door and the ringing of the bell didn't stop. _Wait a minute! Doorbell?_ Mike realised that he was back in his house, sitting in his armchair with the television still on in the background. He jumped up and rushed to the door, completely confused. He opened it a crack and who did he see? Jeannie and Steve weighed down with bags, their young faces lit up with joyful anticipation. Mike flung the door wide open and gathered them in his arms, hugging both at the same time. First he kissed Jeannie, then ruffled Steve's hair, then kissed Jeannie again.

"Just give me a minute to put the bags down, Mike, or I'll drop them on your toes. You won't be so happy to see us then!" Steve quipped, trying to hide his emotions.

Mike reached out to help with the bags.

"Careful with this one, it contains or guest of honour." Steve looked at Mike pleadingly. "I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't leave him in the empty office over Christmas."

Mike noticed the cat carrier that Jeannie was holding and immediately recognised Andy's distinctive howl. "He is as welcome as you two are!" Mike beamed and closed the door. "Now, tell me, what happened?"

Jeannie started. "Well, Mike, I woke up this morning and realised that I wanted to be here, with you and not with Trevor and his stuck-up parents." She wrinkled her nose with disgust. "And when he tried to persuade me to stay, we got into a fight so I told him where he could stuff the ring he had intended to give me tonight." Steve and Mike exchanged a glance. Both of them hadn't liked Trevor at all. "Then I rang Steve at his aunt's…"

Steve continued the story. "… who was already packing his bag to go back to San Francisco. My aunt almost ate me alive when she realised that spending Christmas with her and my uncle meant leaving you on your own." He laughed. "And before you ask, she has eight people staying tonight, with another three families coming over on Christmas Day!"

Mike laughed and wrapped his arms around Jeannie and Steve again.

"Okay, I get that you're happy to see me but I've got more stuff in the car and the trunk is open…" Steve wriggled himself free.

"Wait, I'll help you." Mike felt he needed to talk to his partner alone for a moment.

The two men unloaded more bags and boxes and Steve even had a Christmas tree tied to the roof of his small Porsche. They were struggling to untie the unwieldy and spiky tree, when Mike stopped all of a sudden and looked at his partner. "Steve, you know how sometimes you take things too hard and then you withdraw into yourself….

Steve's voice betrayed his incomprehension. "Are you alright, Mike? " Cause I haven't a clue what you're blabbering about."

Mike patted the young man's back, relieved that the Steve he had seen at Dr. Rabb's clinic was definitely not the Steve standing here in front of him, looking at him questioningly with eyes full of concern.

"Don't mind me, buddy boy. It was just something that went through my mind earlier on."

"Aaw Mike, come on, it's Christmas. The only thing that I find hard now is getting all this stuff up the steps without fainting with hunger! After all I had to collect Jeannie from Colfax. That was as far as Trevor was willing to bring her, the cad!" Steve was disgusted. He had had his share of break ups, too, but never would he have dreamt of leaving a girl stranded in the mountains on Christmas Eve.

After all the bags were stowed in the proper rooms, Jeannie went to the kitchen to put a quick meal together, while Mike and Steve took care of the Christmas tree.

"Any idea where the stand is?" Jeannie shouted out of the kitchen as a joke, because every year a frantic search for the elusive item was part of the tradition.

"It's in the cupboard in the spare room! Bottom shelf! " Mike shouted back.

"Wow, Mike, I'm impressed, you were never so well organised before!"

Mike smiled. "I gotta admit, I had a bit of help there."

The sound of the hissing coffee pot must have drowned out his reply, because Jeannie didn't react to his cryptic remark. He looked at the photograph of Helen on the little side table.

"Thanks for reminding me, Helen, and thanks for our wonderful daughter." He blinked away a tear, grateful that Jeannie grew to be the woman that she was and not the poor desperate creature he had seen earlier on.

Steve reappeared from the spare room where he and Andy would be staying. He carried the cat and the tree stand. Mike took the cat from him and gave the animal's chin a quick scratch. "Sorry, little guy, I'll make it up to you. Just think about all the turkey you can eat and you can sleep in a bed tonight- as long as it is not mine…"

Steve was frantically patting his pockets, too preoccupied with his search to hear Mike apologising to the cat. "Here it is!" He handed Mike a Polaroid photo, showing a large group of people. "I don't think I ever showed you a picture of my aunt."

Mike immediately recognised the grey haired lady from Dr. Rabb's clinic, but she looked very happy and relaxed, clearly enjoying the company of all the young people around her.

"Hey, guys!" Jeannie shouted from the kitchen. "We're almost ready to eat. Could you two set the table?"

Steve didn't need another prompt; driven by hunger he rushed into the kitchen to collect the crockery and silverware. Mike gathered up the magazines that littered the dining table. Abruptly he stopped what he was doing to scrutinise one of them carefully. The cover bore a glossy picture of James J Braddock, the Cinderella Man. The title read "_Commemorating the man with the mighty right!_" Mike looked at the picture and a feeling of immense gratitude almost overpowered him. "Thanks Cinders. Thanks for putting things right by helping me remember everything good in my life. And I swear I'll take all further punches that life will throw at me standing up. I have good people in my corner, people worth fighting for!"

His hand touched the picture on the magazine. Maybe it was a flicker of the Christmas lights, or maybe it was something else, but Mike could have sworn the man in the picture winked at him.


End file.
